Cakes

What are lamingtons? Cake covered in chocolate, covered in coconut. But there’s more to it than that. They are fairly dense vanilla sponge baked in a rectangular tin then cut into squares; dipped into a chocolate sauce which is runny and very chocolatey and really…

Chocolate ripple cheesecake is rich and creamy: everything a cheesecake should be. It’s essentially a vanilla flavoured cheesecake, but the ripple of chocolate through the middle, gives it a whole new dimension. Choose whatever chocolate you love the most. More often than not we use Toblerone.…

I’m a sucker for beautifully produced cookbooks. The ones that entice you with amazing photography and thoughtful layout. Oh, and don’t forget the matt paper, not an ounce of gloss to be found. This is the book I will take off the shelf every time. The touch and…

Not all cakes are created equal. There’s everyday cakes and there’s special cakes. How do you distinguish between the two? It’s simple. Everyday cakes make you think about what you are baking. How much sugar you are adding; the quantity of chocolate that goes into…

There are two types of carrot cake: one where you use butter and the other using oil. The health conscious side of me says go for the olive oil option but then I remember they both have the same amount of sugar.…

This banana cake recipe is from a long time ago, found randomly in a magazine, where and when I can’t remember. Its one of those that you dig out every so often and everyone says: we haven’t had this for ages, but are very happy…

This is the chocolate cake that I pretend is a family recipe that has been handed down from generation to generation, the moistness coming from a closely guarded secret ingredient. In reality its the easiest cake to throw together and tastes like it takes a whole…

Coconut cupcakes are my absolute favourite. As a result, when nobody else wants to put forward a suggestion, or there’s no one home to ask what they want to take as their contribution to the team snack on game day, it will always be…

Banana and chocolate cake is something I’ve never warmed to. They evoke memories of urban hippie children’s birthday cakes of the 90s: a little bit organic and a little bit good for you. The name says we can all feel comfortable eating this cake because how…

The local coffee roaster makes this wonderful looking raspberry coconut loaf. It looks great but I have never bought it because it sits on the counter in the morning sun – individual slices sealed in little plastic bags. Not so good. However, it did…